(Newser)
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A police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, is being charged with murder after a bystander's video appears to show him firing at a fleeing suspect eight times or more, reports the Post and Courier. (That story includes the video, which is graphic.) The video appears to contradict officer Michael Slager's version of events in the incident on Saturday that left 50-year-old Walter Scott dead. Initially, Slager's attorney released a statement saying that Scott grabbed control of the officer's Taser during a struggle and that Slager fired because he feared for his life. The attorney says he is no longer representing the officer.

“When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said today in announcing the murder charges. “When you make a bad decision, don’t care if you’re behind the shield or a citizen on the street, you have to live with that decision.” The shooting took place after Slager stopped Scott about 9:30am for a broken tail light, reports WICV. Scott was wanted on a Family Court warrant, but the specifics of those charges aren't clear. He had been arrested previously on contempt charges for failing to pay child support. The 33-year-old officer is white, and Scott is black.

Wow. Sad, really sad. Such low regard for human life (I'm white). Racial or not, this cop shot an unarmed man in the back several times as he is running away. If this pig doesn't get convicted of first degree murder, we are all in a whole lot of trouble, because there are hundreds of thousands of cops of many different races just like this one out there.

GaryUSA

Apr 8, 2015 12:57 PM CDT

This case just goes to show why the fed govt should finally show some initiative and force all police departments to require cops to wear cameras. Because obviously, it's highly unlikely psycho cops would feel free to cold-bloodily murder people when they know their crimes will be recorded.

Ultraworld

Apr 8, 2015 12:51 PM CDT

That video does not lie. He shot a guy that was no threat to him whatsoever. Cops need to have cameras on them. It's a job that requires a lot of trust, and time after time, cops abuse that trust. These traffic stops for cracked tail lights, licence plate bulbs just to fish for criminals is pretty lame. This guy died over a cracked lens, and child support.